Skip to content

Fugitive wanted for sex crimes in Germany arrested in North Vancouver

A man who is wanted in Germany for sex crimes against a child that spanned four years was found hiding in the Lower Mainland and ordered deported Tuesday.

A man who is wanted in Germany for sex crimes against a child that spanned four years was found hiding in the Lower Mainland and ordered deported Tuesday.

Patrick Boehme, 45, was arrested on Friday by Canada Border Services Agency officers, who began looking for the man in February after German police issued an arrest warrant for sexual interference with a minor.

At an Immigration and Refugee Board detention review hearing on Tuesday, Boehme's lawyer Sharon An said her client admitted to having "sexual relations" with a girl while she was between the ages of 13 and 17.

The name of the girl and her relationship to Boehme is protected by a publication ban.

The hearing was told that Boehme's wife confronted him last October about his relationship with the girl. He asked his wife for time to liquidate his assets before turning himself into police.

However, he instead told a business associate he was moving to Japan for health reasons and then flew to Toronto on Dec. 28, 2011 on a one-way ticket.

German police charged Boehme in absentia in January and a warrant was later issued for his arrest.

When CBSA agents apprehended the fugitive at a bus stop in North Vancouver Friday night, he had 8,600 euros (about $11,225 Cdn) in cash, said agency lawyer Azeem Lalji. Boehme told the CBSA that he didn't know he was wanted in Germany, but agents discovered he had been doing Internet searches on his phone about the status of his charges in Germany, Lalji said.

The evidence "suggests to me that you came to Canada to hide from those charges," said Michael McPhalen, the IRB decision-maker at Tuesday's hearing.

"You face serious charges in Germany."

After concluding the allegations against Boehme had merit, McPhalen ruled him inadmissible to Canada for reasons of "serious criminality" and ordered him deported.

He will be held in custody and, if he does not appeal, could be deported within a week, McPhalen added.

No details were provided during the hearing about how long Boehme was in the Lower Mainland or where he was living.

"In this particular case, [CBSA officers] are gratified that Mr. Boehme is now off Canadian streets and will soon be facing the serious charges against him in Germany," CBSA spokeswoman Faith St. John said after the hearing.

lculbert@vancouversun.com

Click here to see more from the Vancouver Sun.